When you "reach for the stars" today it may mean reaching in your pocket to get the latest news on your mobile phone. This is the blog of the Emerging Technologies in Journalism course at the University of Missouri.

Wednesday, April 30, 2014

Photo: The parade ending in front of Tiger Plaza where the participants posed for pictures and continued their MIZ chants.

At this years LGBTQ Pride Parade, students, organizations and locals alike rallied together to march around the MU campus. Led by the MU LGBTQ Resource Center the parade held strong through a dreary afternoon and cold weather.

About a few dozen people actually participated in the parade, but many others showed an outpour of support via social media. Everything from tweets to instagrams were used to capture the event. Hashtags such as #mizzoupride and #onemizzou could be seen across twitter feeds all afternoon. Social media was even used to direct paraders in chants, as well as tell them all the info leading up to the parade itself.

Photo: Instagram post of the participants

Photo: Tweet from the MSA twitter account about the event

Photo: Tweet of a posed picture after the parade

Photo: Free shirts were provided before the parade

Photo: A tweet by the MU LGBTQ Resource Center telling participants which chants to say.

The outpouring of support via social media was strong and constant throughout the 2014 MU Pride Parade this year. Although I had seen the Missourian use it often, I had never personally used Storify to capture an event. Since most of my reporting was via tweeting and monitoring tweets, I decided this was the best way to cover the story. There is little "new" news with an event like this. These parades happen everywhere. BUT there are always fresh faces and conversations going on, and social media is a perfect way to explore that.

Setting up for the gay pride march on April 30, LGBTQ
Resource Center Coordinator Struby Struble passed out numerous homemade banners
in preparation for the second to last Gay Pride Month event.

Struble has been directing and coordinating events for the group
for two and a half years. She has coordinated 36 events this month with the
final one, Lavendar Graduation, taking place Wednesday May 14.

While organizing the troops, Struble appeared stressed but
maintained her enthusiasm throughout the preparation for the march. She is
excited about the success each event has produced this month, especially the
Identity Lunches, which took place April 3.

The lunches were a new addition to the agenda this year and
generated a huge turnout. At the lunches, attendees learned about specific
identities and issues within the LGBTQ community.

Once every had a sign and some took their seats on the golf cart, the group began its march throughout campus while cheering “MIZ-ZOU,” among others.

Dozens of students braved chilly winds on Wednesday to march
across the University of Missouri’s campus as part of an annual event
supporting LGBTQ rights that witnessed parades across the world.

Shouting, “Two-four-six-eight, equality in very state,”
the enthusiastic crowd began marching at MU’s Brady Fountain and proceeded on a
winding path across the campus.

The crowd, estimated at around 50-60, was
smaller than the 200-300 that Struby Struble, coordinator of MU’s LGBTQ
Resource Center, had said she hoped for. The parade was staged during colder than usual
temperatures.

The University of Missouri held a LGBTQ Pride parade on Wednesday, April 30, 2014 in Columbia, Mo. Three students condensed their coming-out stories to around 10 seconds. Watch what Delan Ellington, Chris Gotchner and Brenna Catletstout had to say about their experiences.

Students and faculty members came together at the student center on Wednesday April 30, 2014 for the annual Pride Parade to show their support for the LGBTQ community.

Missouri Student Daniel Stribling poses with a friend at the parade. "I think it always shows support go out community, and the allies of our community," Stribling said.
Students decorated golf carts in prideful banners to show their LGBTQ support.
Students Wesley Fitzgabbons, Dakota Botts, Dalton Botts, and Kelly Murphy wait for the parade to begin.

Today the MU LGBTQ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer) Resource Center sponsored the annual Pride Parade. They invited people to meet at Circle Fountain outside the MU Student Center, and encouraged people to bring a poster, a message, a friend, or just yourself!

The goal was to show pride and support of all Tigers by marching through campus.

Dakota Botts, Triangle Coalition, the main student LGBTQ group on campus, President, said one of the main significant points of the parade is that everyone should be treated with equality.

The video below highlights some of the pride preparation. Students were decorating "floats," raising flags, and showing their pride.

The support for The Mizzou Pride Parade was over whelming. People from all over town gathered near the Brady Fountain, despite the gloomy weather, to support equal opportunity. Armed with decorated golf carts, rainbow flags, and homemade signs the crowd moved forward together.
Chants rang out, people played instruments and pride radiated from every person there.
The smiles from the crowd were infectious. It was impossible not to feel so much joy for the couples who could show their love openly without judgement and to not feel so much pride to be a part of a campus that willingly accepts them just as they are.

"I'm not afraid to tell the world who I am. I am Michael Sam: I'm a college graduate. I'm African-America, and I'm gay."

From noon to 3 p.m. earlier today, a variety of students
braved the unseasonably cold weather for late April to show their advocacy for
the Mizzou LGBTQ community. Starting at the Brady Fountain next to the Arts
& Science building on campus, the paraders marched through campus, carrying
various handmade signs. The route followed Ninth Street, sneaked around the
columns and Francis Quadrangle and then ended on Rollins Street.

An onslaught of supporters participated in the 3rd
annual Pride Parade, put on by the LGBTQ Resource Center. They marched with
rainbow flags, balloons and ribbons, proudly displaying their support, either
for themselves, for a friend or for a loved one. Marchers also were dressed to
the T with buttons, colored socks – even a rainbow umbrella. As they
crisscrossed around campus they shouted their beliefs in many different chants
such as “whoever we may be, we want equality” and “hey hey, ho ho, homophobia’s
got to go.” Many who couldn’t make it to the parade reached out to the event
and its participants on Twitter, giving compassionate encouragements or wishes
that they could have been there to march with them.

The Pride Parade is one of many events that have recently
taken place on campus, and it wrapped up a Pride Month filled with films,
presentations, monologues, panels, lectures and even drag shows.

Fore more about this year’s events or information regarding the Mizzou
LGBTQ community in general, visit http://lgbtq.missouri.edu/

The last day in April marks Mizzou's annual Pride Parade in celebration of Pride Month. It's only the third time that the campus's LGBTQ Resource Center has put on a parade, but they've already gotten great news coverage and formed a dedicated following. So how can YOUR campus kick off its own bitchin' pride parade?

First of all, you gotta dress the part--from head...

Struby Struble, Coordinator of the LGBTQ Resource Center, is one of the hippest cats around. Note the Mizzou Tigers hat with strategically placed MU rainbow pin.

...to toe.

Did you guys, like, call each other the night before and decide to wear the same thing? Because that totally rocks.

Monday, March 3, 2014

The Mobile World Congress introduced quite a few new gadgets.
Here is a look at a few of my favorite ones.

Firstly we have the Sound OG900 headphones from Samsung. They will set you back a whooping $275, but for quality sound presented fashionably I am not too surprised. These trendsetters will also match the new Galaxy Note 3.

This next gadget is the Monster SuperStar Bluetooth speaker. Who knew such loud noises could come from such a small device? Music accessories are continuing to become smaller and smaller. Currently I still rock the now considered old fashioned iPod dock. Soon I will make the switch to the Bluetooth devices.

As a runner this next gadget made me happy. Living in Texas I tend to wait until the sun goes down before I take off on my nightly run. I do not wear any safety wear, so this new ipod case would sure come in handy. This iPod arm band has flashing

Thursday, February 27, 2014

After reexamining all of the major announcements from Mobile World Conference 2014, it is clear that their were no major game changing innovations that will make immediate impact to the gamer community. As far a home consoles like Microsoft's X-Box, Nintendo's Wii, or Sony's Playstation, their were no new releases, as they usually tend to market their product more near the holiday season. Thus, at MWC, mobile gaming seemed to be the only gamer avenue being explored.

If you look back at my previous blog, I highlighted this area by profiling the MADCATZ CTRLRi and the impact it will have on mobile devices. It'll add authentic gameplay and attract even the most loyal of console gamers to mobile devices. It will also promote action games on the mobile platform. What keeps this from having an immediate major impact though is how a device that is too large for a pocket will work being marketed towards a male demographic. If you just stop with that question, it would appear that this innovation will have a short shelf life. However, this is the beauty of the technology. No one version or first draft of anything is going to be it's last.

So, lets look at the positives of the product and just how it could affect any of it's hand-held competitors. For example, where Nintendo's GameBoy once held a monopoly on the mobile gaming market, the bigger named home gaming console companies like Sony bombarded the market with their PSP device's better graphics, gameplay and computer like features. This high end product, while at first big, got sleeker and more convenient to carry, making it the new top dog, making Nintendo's next generation hand-helds, GameBoy Advance and Nintendo DS obsolete. And with the same kind of marketing and improvements to the new console like controllers for smart phones, Will Goodboy of RTE.ie Business Blog says they could do the exact same thing to PSP.

If this does happen, Goodboy says the death of personal gaming could be nigh.

The SAMSUNG S CONSOLE is one of multiple new console type controllers made for smart phones

According to NFC World, visitors got to choose the genre of food they wanted, and then selected specific food choices within that through the app. Using PayPal, attendees were able to pay for their food instantly, which decreased the time it took to pick up their food orders. Once their food was ready, the app notified them. When arriving to the food venue, the individual could check in via NFC or QR code and then an employee would give them their order.

This technology will be especially useful in determining wait times at restaurants and will allow people to order and pick up food in less time and without the unnecessary waiting around for your food to be ready.

Mobile
World Congress closed on Thursday the way it began: with talk of identity
security filling whatever void was left from the buzz surrounding Google, Samsung and the appearance of Mark
Zuckerberg.

SPG Technologies grabbed early headlines as it unveiled its Blackphone, a mobile phone that the company says places user security as a priority. For the price of $629 -- plus shipping. And the phone generated early praise. Cheerleading tweets such as this from Symantec were typical.

Skeptics,
though, already are pushing back against what the companies peddled to the
public this week. In an interesting piece in Quartz, Leo Mirani cites posts by MattWeinberger in CITEWorld and Sebastian Anthony in ITProPortal that dispel the
Blackphone – or really, any mobile phone so far – as being completely secure.
Further, Mirani shows a contradiction between statements from Phil Zimmerman,
one of Blackphone’s creators, to statements on the website of SPG Technologies, the company that has created the device.

Such quick rebuttals counter the work companies spent this week pushing phones
and software that they say will ensure the security of the data in our mobile
phones. Mobile phone companies rolled out new products featuring optical,
fingerprint or audio security features.

Hong Kong-based FingerQ helped kick off the week by leading a discussion on its use of
biometrics technology to ensure phone users’ safe transmission of texts, mobile
payments and other activities. Biometrics, simply put, is the practice of
studying how we identify others, either through behavior or some tangible piece
of evidence, like a fingerprint or eye movement.

These are
early days in the identity security business. Phones may never be able to
provide absolute security. In the meantime, consumers will have to ask
themselves if spending more than $600 is a cost worth paying for a false sense
of security.

Oxford named it the word of the year. Beyoncé does them. So does Hillary Clinton. They've been done in the both the most perilous and mundane situations. Yes, we're talking about everyone's favorite, long-armed pastime: the selfie. 2013 was a great year for the narcissistic shots, and judging by the Global Mobile Awards' "most innovative app," we can prepare for a 2014 full of Instagram self-portraits, now made easier.

The Mobile World Congress awarded CamMe, powered by PointGrab, the prestigious award on Tuesday. CamMe uses gesture controls to take pictures from up to 16 feet away, so done are the days of pretend-yawn stretches to send Snap Chats to your friends. Users signal the camera to start a three second delay by raising a hand, still giving you the perfect amount of time to assume prime photo position, with no errant, extended arms in sight. The app also allows for picture stitching and photo borders.

Does this mean that the fine folks at MWC's priorities are really aligned with a largely millennial celebration of the self? I bet not. PointGrab seems to be the idea that piqued the MWC's interest is the gesture-based technology. They explain the app on the awards page:"CamMe is a gesture based camera app that changes the way people take
pictures, allowing you to take pictures from distance without touching
the device. Just raise your hand, close it to activate the camera, CamMe
will count 3, 2, 1 and you can pose and smile, a great new selfie will
be taken. CamMe is powered by PointGrab, a leader in gesture recognition
software solutions offering a natural way of interacting with devices.
Over 20 million CE devices are already enabled with hand gesture control
powered by PointGrab on world’s top brands including Samsung, TCL,
Skyworth, Lenovo, Acer, Fujitsu."

PointGrab has also produced gesture-controlled technology in televisions, tablets and computers. The app is currently free across mobile platforms.
People giving CamMe a try:

Within a week, Samsung took not just a dip, but a dive into the healthcare pool.

The South Korean technology powerhouse announced a partnership on Friday with the University of California, San Francisco, to focus preventative health more on digital.

Photo via Flickr/opopododo

"Harnessing new preventative health technologies to help people live healthier lives is the next great opportunity of our generation," said Samsung president and CSO Young Sohn in a Reuters article.

Samsung's Digital Health Innovation Lab, which will be housed on UCSF's campus, aims to ignite and test new ideas, formulas, sensors and other technologies that will take health care into relatively uncharted mobile waters.

At the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona this week, Sohn delivered a keynote about Samsung's vision for digital health. For the first time, the event had a lineup of speakers and sessions on Health & Wellness, which was sponsored by ECHAlliance.

"The Mobile Health sector presents a huge opportunity to deliver more efficient care, empower patients, and achieve significant savings in care services and the treatment and management of chronic diseases," said ECHAlliance chair Brian O'Connor in a press release. "Mobile Health applications were used by more than 75 million people in the U.S. in 2013 and the global Mobile Health market is poised to reach $20 billion by 2018. However, it also presents some barriers and challenges that should be tackled by all stakeholders."

Wednesday, February 26, 2014

A breakthrough prototype tablet was displayed at the Fujistu booth at this years Mobile World Congress that redefines the touch screen. The new technology allows users to "feel" what they are touching on the screen. The prototype allows users to stroke an alligator and feel its skin or pluck the strings of a harp.

"It's one of those things that has to be touched to be believed," according to a reporter from a video posted by BBC News on Monday about the tablet.

The tablet uses ultrasonic vibrations to, in essence, trick the user into thinking they are feeling what is on the screen. Although other technology has attempted to recreate this concept, Fujistu says that this is the first ultrasound technology in the world to run on a smaller device like a tablet.

According to Hexus, the technology works like this: Ultrasonic vibrations create a high-pressure layer of air between the screen and your fingertip, which helps reduce the friction and creates what they call a floating effect. High and low friction are then combined and organized to create different sensations for different images.

The predecessor to this technology, haptic tech, was released in 2012 and according to Engadget it never really caught on. But, so far Fujistu's tablet seems to be getting a lot of attention and generating plenty of interest because right now, it is unlike anything else on the market.

So, what exactly does this type of technology mean for the future of tablets? Well, Fujistu hopes to release the product commercially in 2015 according to Mail Online. Which, could up the ante for other companies in the tablet industry.

This type of technology has the capability to change the way people interact with media not only while playing games, but while giving presentations and selling products as well. It seems to be that in the very near future not only will consumers be able to see their media in crystal clear HD, they will also be able to virtually touch it too.

Call it the
Edward Snowden Effect – the fear of big government. Perhaps it’s the frequent news reports of retail business’s consumer data falling
victim to hackers. Or maybe it’s the now-common media reports of public disgust
with Facebook for changing its privacy settings by stealth.

Whatever the reason, the public is wrestling with how to preserve privacy and
securely store data in a digital age. A survey by the Pew Research Center’sInternet Project shows how conflicted we are. Roughly 86 percent of respondents
said they have taken steps to minimize their presence on the Internet and 55
percent have taken steps to avoid being seen by specific people, organizations
or government. And yet, 59 percent said they believe it is not possible to
remain completely anonymous online.

Business is
sure to take notice of such survey results. It’s no accident, then, that identity
and security are one of the highlighted topics at this week’s Mobile WorldCongress in Barcelona, Spain, the annual gathering that is part consumer expo
and part thought-leader conference that draws tens of thousands. A forum on security helped kick off the week, and security has remained a topic generating interest all week.

Various
products are being unveiled that dovetail into the identity security theme. This
week, Samsung followed up last year’s unveiling of the Knox security solution
for its mobile phone Galaxy S5 with Knox 2.0. Tech website ZDNET reports that new features
include both password and fingerprint verification to unlock the phone.

Not just
phone sellers are in the mobile identity security game. Biometrics is an
emerging area for digital privacy and online security company AVG, which
produces virus and malware protection products, led a discussion on Monday on
security issues tied to the digital space we live in.

Software also is a focus of new products to enhance security. As MWC began, Verizon and McAfee announced an agreement that would supply software to an expanded group of mobile devices, ZDNET reported.